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Country code |
GB |
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Repository code |
234 |
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Repository |
National Records of Scotland |
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Reference |
E738 |
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Title |
Exchequer Records: Forfeited Estates 1745: Particular Management: Francis Buchanan of Arnprior, Arnprior Estate |
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Dates |
1663-1784 |
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Access status |
Open |
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Location |
Off site |
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Description |
Owner: Francis Buchanan of Arnprior: Arnprior Estate: Stirlingshire: parish of Kippen. Perthshire: barony of Strathyre and lands of Stank and Curanoch, parishes of Balquhidder and Callander.
E738/1-38 are records created by or on behalf of the Barons of Exchequer. E738/39-73 are records created by or on behalf of the Commissioners for the Annexed Estates. |
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Level |
Series |
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Admin
history |
When the Jacobite rising collapsed in the spring of 1746, a large number of estates in Scotland belonging to those who had been implicated in the affair, were forfeited to the Crown by the attainder for treason of their owners. The so-called Vesting Act (20 George II c41) which received the royal assent on 17th June 1747 authorized the Scottish Court of Exchequer as guardian of the Crown revenues in Scotland to make full enquiry into the extent and value of the estates; to appoint factors; to levy the rents and profits and to arrange for the determination of claims; the sale of both real and personal property and finally the payment of creditors.
Of the fifty-three estates surveyed by order of the Barons of Exchequer, the Court of Session upheld claims to twelve (one of these the estate of Alexander MacGillivray of Dunmaglass is not represented in this collection) and declared them not forfeited, but the remainder fell to the management of the Barons. For nearly three quarters of a century they were engaged in the complex business of administering this property and the funds arising from it. The records of their administration are of considerable interest for the picture they provide of life on these lands in the period before the rising; the manner in which that life was disrupted by the events of 1745-1746 and the vigorous efforts used during the years that followed to restore order and bring life back to a state of normality particularly in the Highlands, there are some documents mainly title deeds relating to the estates before 1745.
Most of the forfeited estates were eventually sold by public auction in order to satisfy the claims of creditors, but thirteen, (fourteenth then estate of Keppoch, was later found not to be forfeited), all located in or near the Highlands and in notoriously Jacobite areas, were singled out for special attention as part of the government's scheme to eliminate completely the threat of Jacobinism by removing some of the basic causes of discontent and disaffection. From December 1752 they were inalienably annexed to the Crown by an Act which had passed through parliament the previous March. The 'Annexing Act' (25 George II, c. 41) was directed primarily toward the amelioration of social and economic conditions throughout the Highlands and Islands. It provided that the rents and profits arising from the annexed property were to be used solely for the 'Purposes of civilizing the inhabitants upon the said estates, and other parts of the Highlands and Island of Scotland, the promoting amongst them the Protestant Religion, Good Government, Industry and Manufactures, and the principals of Duty and Loyalty to his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors and to no other use or purpose whatsoever'. As this provision precluded the use of any of the income form the estates for the payment of creditors, Parliament had to make special authorisation for this purpose.
The responsibility for executing this unique scheme for Highland improvement was placed in the hands of Commissioners appointed to the Crown, who were expected to devote themselves to the task without salary or other reward. Numbering between twenty-eight and thirty-five, the Commissioners for the Annexed Estates included within their ranks some of the outstanding, certainly the most enlightened, men of the age - Crown officials, noblemen, judges and lairds.
The inexplicable delay in the appointment of the first of these Commissioners, which did not take place until 1755, resulted in the Annexed Estates remaining for a time under the management of the Barons of Exchequer. When the Commissioners met for the first time in June of that year, they undertook the administration of only half of these estates: Perth, Lovat, Cromarty, Barrisdale, Monaltry, Struan and part of Arnprior and Kinlochmoidart. The rest were held of subject superiors and it was not until 1770, when the Crown purchases the superiorities, that the estates of Lochiel, Ardsheal, Callart, Lochgarry, Cluny and the remaining parts of Arnprior and Kinlochmoidart were transferred from the management of the Barons to that of the Commissioners.
For nearly thirty years the Commissioners for the Annexed Estates devoted themselves to implementing both the letter and the spirit of the Annexing Act. They carried out large scale improvements in agriculture and afforestation, encouraged by the fishing industry, promoted lines and other manufactures and introduced a system of technical education. Under their aegis schools and churches were erected, roads and bridges constructed and harbours improved. To raise the standard of living conditions, they encouraged the building of better houses and helped to eradicate disease. Paving the way for further improvements, they sponsored botanical, geological and agricultural surveys which revealed much about the resources of the country. Few aspects for Highland life went untouched by their efforts.
In 1774 Parliament passed a special Act (14 George III C 22) restoring the estate of Lord Lovat to his eldest son, Major-General Simon Fraser. This was followed ten years later by a general restoration of all the other annexed estates to the heirs of the former owners. But, in each cases the "Disannexing Act" of 1784 (24 George III C 57)) like the Act of 1774, required the repayment of the sums expended by the Government in clearing the estate of debt. In the same manner, the superiorities of several estates were returned to the subject superiors from whom they had been purchased in 1770 subject to the repayment of the purchase price.
With the restoration of the Annexed Estates the work of the Commissioners came to an end and the Barons of Exchequer were left with the task of concluding unfinished business and arranging for the allocation of the funds arising from the transaction. These funds were appropriated by the Disannexing Act and subsequent legislation for the completion of numerous public works, including Register House, the Forth and Clyde Canal, the Crinan Canal and Leith Docks. Finally in 1806 provision was made for the transfer of the balance to the Commissioners for Highland Roads and Bridges, but the Court of Exchequer was still handling business relating to the funds until as late as 1824.
Arnprior Estate
From its forfeiture until 1755 the estate was under the management of the Barons of Exchequer, but with the implementation of the Annexing Act in that year, the barony of Strathyre and the lands of Stank and Curanoch passed to the management of the Commissioners for the Annexed Estates. The lands of Arnprior, however, which held of John Erskine of Carnock remained with the Barons of Exchequer until 1770 when the superiority was purchased by the Crown, and from that time until 1784, when it was restored to Jean Buchanan and John Buchanan of Auchlessie, the heirs of the forfeited person, the entire estate was under the management of the Commissioners. Additional papers relating to the barony of Strathyre under the management of the Commissioners are to be found among those relating to the Highland division of the estate of Perth with which it was managed (E777 passim). From 1766 the Barony of Strathyre was included in the accounts of the factor of the Highland division of the estate of Perth (E777/327-332). |
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Arrangement |
The collection has been divided into two main groups.
The documents in the first group relate to the general management of the estates both forfeited, and annexed the records of the Barons of Exchequer coming first and then those of the Commissioners for the Annexed Estates.
The second main group includes the documents which relate to the particular management of the individual estates, both forfeited and annexed, arranged in alphabetical order.
In the case of the Annexed Estates the records of the Barons of Exchequer appear first, followed by those of the Commissioners. The further arrangement of the documents under each estate is intended to illustrate the way in which the administration was carried out. First come the rentals and surveys, then papers relating to claims, royal and treasury warrants, letters, petitions, papers relating to the general management of the property and its improvement, documents concerning its sale, if a forfeited estates or its restoration and, finally, the factors' accounts. This general pattern has been followed for all the estates. In using the collection, readers are advised to look first at the records of General Management for entries in minute books, letter books, general reports etc concerning an estate before turning to the documents relating to that estate in the Particular Management section |
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Format |
Manuscript |
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Archival history |
After 1784 the records of the Annexed Estates were transferred to the custody of the Court of Exchequer and deposited in the newly-constructed Register House. Those relating to the Forfeited Estates remained in the offices of the Exchequer and suffered some slight damage by fire in 1811 though there appears to have been no major destruction or loss.
Later in the 19th century they, too, were transferred to Register House and the entire collection was arranged and inventoried. A selection of these documents was printed in 'Scottish Forfeited Estates Papers 1715-1745', edited by A. H. Millar (Scottish History Society, 1909). In certain respects, however, the arrangement was defective; some documents were misplaced in the collection and others remained among the unsorted Exchequer records. These were discovered in 1956 and additional items came to light among Exchequer records transmitted to the Scottish Record Office in 1958. The present arrangement, which has enabled a much fuller inventory to be compiled, was completed in 1963-1964. |
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Associated persons |
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